SAFD responds quickly to grease fire; no one hurt

"As long as I've got my cat, that's all that matters," Pete Terrazas said as he holds his cat, Bubbles, after a fire in the apartment below his forced them outside at the Summit of Thousand Oaks apartment complex in San Antonio on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Terrazas was forced to leave his apartment when he couldn't find Bubbles or his other cat, Cloe, but was allowed to re-enter once the fire was out to find them in their hiding places and take them outside.

"As long as I've got my cat, that's all that matters," Pete Terrazas said as he holds his cat, Bubbles, after a fire in the apartment below his forced them outside at the Summit of Thousand Oaks apartment

"As long as I've got my cat, that's all that matters," Pete Terrazas said as he holds his cat, Bubbles, after a fire in the apartment below his forced them outside at the Summit of Thousand Oaks apartment complex in San Antonio on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Terrazas was forced to leave his apartment when he couldn't find Bubbles or his other cat, Cloe, but was allowed to re-enter once the fire was out to find them in their hiding places and take them outside.

"As long as I've got my cat, that's all that matters," Pete Terrazas said as he holds his cat, Bubbles, after a fire in the apartment below his forced them outside at the Summit of Thousand Oaks apartment

A grease fire that started in the kitchen of an apartment unit on San Antonio's North Side early Saturday afternoon displaced at least one person and did about $18,000 in damage to the building. No one was injured.

San Antonio firefighters were able to respond quickly to the blaze, which erupted at The Remington apartment homes located on the 1500 block of Thousand Oak, because it was near a fire station.

San Antonio Fire Department Battalion Chief Patrick Zepeda said the quick reaction prevented the fire from spreading beyond that initial unit on the second floor. He said there wasn't a fire extinguisher in the kitchen where the fire erupted.

For Pete Terrazas, 34, the first he knew of the fire was when firefighters woke him up and told him to leave his apartment immediately, leaving two cats behind in a unit situated directly above the fire.

Shortly after the blaze was extinguished, he was allowed to re-enter his apartment to find them and re-emerged with one cat in his arm and another in a carrier.

“I was grateful that I just got the cats out,” Terrazas said. “Everything else is under warranty.”